Helmet shield fastener



Jan. 28, 1969 F. HEACOX 3,423,758

HELMET SHIELD FASTENER Filed July 28. 1966 United States Patent 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In particular, this patent describes a novel crash helmet fastener means for the connection of the shield to the body of the crash helmet, said fastener meanscomprising a body having a generally stud-like configuration which is of low profile and made of a shatterable material, and having a shank portion adapted to be received in the body of the helmet without any fitting or retainer on the inside of the helmet. The outer end of the shank portion has attached a head portion thereto having inner and outer flanged portions each of which is larger in area than the shank portion, the inner flange serving to distribute the force of impact over a large area of the helmet, the flanges forming therebetween a retainer groove for the shield.

This. invention relates to a novel means for fastening a shield on a crash helmet.

Various devices have been proposed for the attachment of eye and face shields to the body of a crash helmet. Typically, the fastener for the attachment of the shield to the helmet is a hard shatter-proof material. In addition, the fasteners are ordinarily made with a relatively small head portion It has been found in practice that the extremely shatter resistant small fasteners of the type commonly used will, upon impact, break loose and act as a missile which drives through the side of the helmet and increases the possibility of skull fracture and brain injury. The present invention is directed to a novel shield fastener for crash helmets which eliminates the dangerous concentration of metal hardware on the surface of the helmet I which tended to focus the energy of an impact and increase the possibility of brain damage.

Thus, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a novel fastener means for the attachment of the shield to the body of a crash helmet.

More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a plastic attachment which eliminates the concentration of metal on the surface of the crash helmet.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a crash helmet which minimizes protrusions on the surface of the shell of the crash helmet to reduce the possibility of brain injury due to torsional forces exerted on contact with the impact surface.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a means for fastening the shield to the crash helmet utilizing a device having a minimum of weight and which is simple and quick in operation requiring no s 'pecial tools or knowledge.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel attachment for the face shield to a crash helmet which is neat in appearance and low in cost.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the more detailed description which follows taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of the novel crash helmet containing the face shield attached by the novel fastener means of the present invention;

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FIGURE 2 is a side view of a typical face shield removed from the body of the crash helmet;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 33 in FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the fastener device of the present invention with face shield removed.

Briefly, the present invention comprises a novel attachment for the connection of the shield to the body of a crash helmet having a generally stud-like configuration having a shank portion adapted'to be received in the body of the helmet and attached to the outer end of said shank portion a head portion having inner and outer flanged portions each of which is larger in cross-sectional area than the shank, said inner flange being larger in crosssection than the outer shank and adapted to abut against the outer side surface of the body of the helmet, so that when the force of impact is applied to the head portion of the stud, it will be distributed by said inner flange over a greater area of the helmet body, said outer flange making a retainer for the shield by creating a groove between said flanges. The stud is composed of a shatterable plastic material which will shatter under a force less than that required to drive said stud through the side wall of said helmet. The present invention also includes the combination of a crash helmet, shield and novel fastener means.

Turning to the drawings in greater detail, in FIGURE 1 the helmet is indicated generally as 10, the face shield as 12 and the novel fastener means is 14. The body of the helmet 10 comprises a reinforced plastic fiberglass layer 16 which may be overcoated with a thin paint coating or other protective layer (not shown), and contain a rigid polymeric foam backing or liner 18. The fastener means 14 comprises the externally threaded shank member 20, the inner flange portion 22 and the outer flange portion 24. The outer flange portion 24 has a circular countersunk opening therein 26 having a threaded groove 28 running the length thereof to facilitate the insertion of the fastener in the helmet. As can be seen in FIGURES 3 and 4, the inner flange portion 22 of the stud is considerably larger than the outer flange 24 so that any force of impact on the head portion is distributed over the area of inner flange 22 which snugly abuts the side Wall of the helmet thereby distributing the force of impact over a greater area and reducing the tendency of the stud to be driven through the wall of the helmet. The face shield 12 has an opening 30 therein to permit the passage of the fastener means 14 theret-hrough. In addition the shield 12 may contain various conventional attachments such as the edge liner 32 and the attachments 34 and 36 for preventing free rotation of the shield 12 around the fastener. These various attachments form no part of the present invention.

As has been indicated above, the fastener means 14 is made of a shatterable plastic so that upon impact it will shatter under a force less than that which is required to drive it through the wall of the helmet. Normally the shatterable plastic is nylon. However, any other suitable shatterable plastic may be utilized. Many such plastics will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention is not limited to any specific composition. I

The opening 30 in shield 12 is of such a size that it can be snapped over flange 24 and into the groove between flanges 22 and 24 where it is retained. The shield is received in this groove with suflicient snugness to prevent substantial translational movement between the shield and the helmet, but loose enough so as to permit the shield to be freely rotated about the fastener means 14 on each side of the helmet. In this way the shield may be moved up and away from the wearers line of sight.

3 The size and number of slots 31 in hole 30 can be varied to accommodate differences in shield material, thickness, and stiffness.

As will be immediately apparent to those skilled in the art, the novel fastener design, and helmet, shield and fastener combination of the present invention represents a substantial improvement in safety helmets. By the present invention impact on the side of the helmet is far less likely to result in the driving of the fastener through the side of the helmet in missile-like fashion. In the present invention the shatterable fastener will upon impact break without the propulsion of any parts thereof into the interior of the helmet. This substantially reduces the possibility of brain damage due to impact on the attachment. The resistance of the stud to propulsion through the side of the helmet is also further reduced by the flange portion which distributes the force on the stud over an enlarged area of the helmet thereby decreasing the likelihood of breaking of the main body of the crash helmet.

Having fully described the invention, it is intended that it be limited only by the lawful scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a crash helmet having a rigid helmet body adapted to receive the head of a wearer, a shield, and fastening means carried by said helmet body connecting said shield to said body, the improvement wherein the fastener means has a generally stud-like configuration of low profile and composed of a shatterable material which will shatter upon a force less than than required to drive said fastener through the side wall of said helmet, said fastener having a shank portion received in the body of the helmet, attached to the outer end of said shank portion a head portion having an inner flanged portion which is larger in area than said shank portion, said inner flange abutting the outer surface of said body of the crash helmet so that the force of impact applied to the head portion will be distributed by the inner flange over a greater area of said helmet.

2. A crash helmet comprising a rigid helmet body adapted to receive the head of a wearer, a shield, and means carried by said rigid body connecting said shield to said body comprising a generally stud-like configuration of low profile and composed of a shatterable material which will shatter under a force less than that required to drive said fastener through the side wall of said helmet, said means having a shank portion received in the body of the helmet and attached to the outer end of said shank portion a head having an inner and outer flange portion each of which is larger in area than said shank portion, said inner flange abutting the outer side surface of said body of said crash helmet, so that the force of impact applied to the head portion will be distributed by the inner flange over a greater area of said helmet, said flanges forming therebetween the retainer groove, and the sole means connecting said shield to said helmet comprising a notched opening at each side of said shield and the outer flange of said fastener means which passes therethrough and forms a snap fit placement within the retainer groove.

3. The helmet of claim 1 wherein said shatterable material is nylon.

4. The helmet of claim 2 wherein said shatterable material is nylon.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,535,982 4/1925 Carr 24-217 2,763,006 9/1956 Amundsen 2-8 3,029,486 4/ 1962 Raymond.

3,159,846 12/1964 Toomey et al. 2-129 XR 2,954,564 10/1960 Sowle 2-9 2,985,883 5/1961 Marietta 2-9 3,189,918 6/1965 Hiatt et al. 2--9 3,223,086 12/ 1965 Denton 2-6 XR OTHER REFERENCES Gries Reproducer Corp., Injection Molded Nylon Fasteners, p. 7, received in the Patent Oflice Sept. 17, 1962.

JAMES R. BOLER, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. -9, 41 

